Today we’d like to introduce you to Josiah Gonzalez.
Hi Josiah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Avenida Music started as a garage band in 2014. Myself (Josiah) and two brothers Vincent and Samuel grew up playing together in church and school bands. We decided to play music together as a way to stay connected. After a few years of playing the local pubs and bars, we decided to take music seriously and wrote a business plan for trying to do music full time.
We had built a solid business playing weddings and corporate events when Covid hit. We realized that even though Indio hosts Coachella festival every year, there are not enough places to play on the east side of the Coachella Valley. We set out to build a music venue that would cater to locals and eventually help develop Indio as a destination for live music in Socal.
We worked with the city to turn an old abandoned pharmacy into the anchor for a downtown that was run down and lifeless. We are currently one month away from opening the first musician-owned live music venue in the Coachella Valley.
Little Street Music Hall will be a place for musicians to play for their community at night and we are building a coffee shop inside to host live music events and workshops during the day. That shop will be called Encore Coffee and it will be the first coffee shop on the block!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This process has been a mess. Everybody thinks it would be cool to turn old buildings into music venues until you realize there’s probably asbestos, the electrical panels aren’t up to code, water and sewage are shot, and the building needs new HVAC.
Our biggest struggle has been finding people to help us build and repair the building who are competent enough to do the work but also small enough to take on a project that isn’t huge. So many contractors are busy and don’t call back if you don’t have a relationship with them.
We also struggled to transition from band to business. We now have a music education department, live music department, music booking department, food and beverage department, and the venue. Working to shift responsibilities and bring on new staff to help with all of this is both expensive and difficult.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Avenida Music is a full-service music company. We provide live music (Band and DJs), live music and DJ booking, music education programs, and B2B consultation. What started as a garage band transformed into a wedding and corporate event music company. Today we are one month away from opening a music venue/coffee shop in the heart of Indio, CA.
Our ultimate goal is to transform the music community in the easter Coachella Valley into a thriving environment for musicians and music lovers. We are taking a multi-level approach as we build out lessons for children, a venue for young musicians to play original music, booking opportunities for professional musicians (wedding and corporate), and a production company for recording and managing artists.
We have partnered with the city of Indio, CA in an effort to transform the downtown into a haven for live music beyond just Coachella and Stagecoach weekends. We want Indio, Coachella, Thermal, and the whole eastern Coachella Valley to be a community that embraces music and art and in turn, we want people to view Indio as a destination city for living and gigging as a musician.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The music industry has shifted and the landscape has changed for food and beverage as well. What we are seeing is people spending more money than ever on major festivals and music shows but local shows can be hit or miss. We are also seeing musicians realize that you don’t need a million social media followers to build a living wage. Now more than ever you can self-manage and develop two or three opportunities that allow you to play and produce music while living comfortably.
You are also seeing traditional “third places” disappear. Starbucks is closing dining areas and building “drive through only” locations. We hope that as people start to eat local and buy local, they will also start to listen local. We want to be a community space where people can visit and support local roasters, musicians, brewers, and food trucks/vendors.
Contact Info:
- Website: littlestreetmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avenida_music/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littlestreetmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkbMlKJXCWMfmqW2vDZ4_4g
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/avenida-music-palm-springs
Image Credits
Skye Cordova Alfredo Sanchez
